“Yes, sir. I assumed you’d want some as soon as you got out.” She sat as he took his chair.
“Thanks.” He sipped the dark bitter nectar and sighed. “Ahh, now that hits the spot.” He smiled at her then noted the look on her face. His smile slowly faded, and he placed his coffee mug on his desk. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“I’m ready, Colonel.”
Mitchell gave her a confused look at first then realization struck him. “Oh.” He glanced around his office, hoping to find something else that needed doing before she could officially ‘leave’ their service. “I, uh…”
“I brought her in just like you wanted. You don’t need to travel any longer and leave the squads behind.” Laura cleared her throat and rubbed her palms across her pants leg, attempting to dry them. “Mark is all but healed completely. He’s more than capable of taking over all of my duties.”
“And, uh…Evan? He’s okay with…”
“We’ve talked. He knows that I need to go and he understands that I’ll be back.” She stood and nodded. “Colonel. I need to go.”
Mitchell stood slowly and shook his head. “I guess you do.” He stepped out from behind his desk and shook his head. “I just don’t understand why you have to go so quickly.”
“If I don’t get out of here, I’ll never go. This place has a way of sucking me back in. It seems like every time I turn around there’s something else that is threatening the world, and if I could just stick around a little bit longer…” She gave him a tight lipped smile. “I will be back. Eventually. But right now? I have to get out of here or I’ll go insane and take everybody else with me.”
Mitchell nodded as he held out a hand to her. “Understood.”
Laura reached for his hand then paused. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the man that had become a surrogate father to her. “I’ll come back. I promise.” Her voice sounded tiny and small, buried in his chest.
“I’ll hold you to it.” Mitchell stroked her hair gently and allowed her to let go and wipe at her face. “If you don’t, you know a certain vampire that will definitely come looking for you.”
She sniffed back a tear and nodded. “Yes, sir.” She stood at attention and snapped a perfect salute. Mitchell sobered then returned it. He felt his chest tighten as she spun and marched out of his office. As he watched her walk away, he felt like his family was being torn from him once again.
He stood alone in his office for a moment, unsure what to do next. He turned slowly back to his desk and sat down, suddenly weary. He reached for his coffee cup as his door opened again. Captain Jones stepped just inside. “Have a moment, sir?”
Mitchell glanced up and waved him in. “How did the op go last night, Jericho?”
Jones approached his desk and laid a report down gently. “It could have gone better.”
Mitchell snapped to attention. “Casualties?”
Jericho nodded. “One, sir.” He tapped the report. “Apollo.”
Mitchell released the breath he had been holding and nodded slowly. “So that’s what the men decided.”
“Negative, sir.” Jones seemed to be in a state of shock, or disbelief. “The men took a vote and decided to banish Apollo. He could no longer be a part of the squads, never pop up on our radar or face their wrath. They were going to tell him to just fade away. Maybe find a pack and lay low.”
“What happened, Captain?”
Jericho slowly shook his head. “Sniper, sir. And he got away. He’s still out there somewhere.”
“It wasn’t any of our perimeter watches?” Mitchell picked up the report and thumbed through it.
“Negative, sir.” Jericho nodded toward the report. “It’s all covered in there.”
Mitchell closed the report and looked up at Jones. “Are you okay, Captain?”
Jericho inhaled deeply and let it out slowly while he chose his words. “We lost an operator tonight, sir. Whether he was actually still with us or not, that doesn’t matter. He was one of us.” He turned toward the door then spun back toward Mitchell. “I know this makes no sense, but it would have been different if the squad had decided to…” He trailed off.
Mitchell stood and approached the man. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and nodded. “I understand what you’re saying, son. Somebody took it upon themselves to lay down judgment on one of our own.”
“Exactly, Colonel. They don’t have the right.” Jericho turned reddened eyes to him and shook with rage. “If we had decided that, it’s one thing, but we didn’t.”
“This isn’t over, Captain. If there’s still one of theirs out there, we’ll keep hunting until we find him.” Mitchell squeezed his shoulder gently.
Jericho inhaled deeply and nodded. “Apologies, Colonel.”
“No need, son. Apollo was with us for a very long time. He may have strayed and done things that we have trouble understanding, but I understand exactly where you’re coming from.”
Jericho nodded his thanks and turned for the door. “Oh, by the way, sir, Major Tufo is on the horn with Team One in England. I think he may be following up on a hunch.”
*****
Bigby maneuvered his stolen car through the industrial park and toward the interstate. Once he was back onto the freeway, he quickly blended with the early morning traffic of those who diligently trekked to and from work like drones. He drove aimlessly until he found himself north of the city and passing well to do homes. He saw a billboard for model homes and without thinking took the exit.
His body was exhausted and his mind raced at what to do next. He knew he needed to let Mr. Simmons know what had happened. He debated on whether to paint Sheridan as an idiot for having trusted the Yank or not. He finally decided against that move. If he made Sheridan out to be inadequate, there was a good chance that Simmons would consider him to be as well.
Big pulled the stolen car into the housing complex and noted the finished homes near the front of the entrance and the new construction in different stages of completion the further you drove. He drove the car through the area and once he was satisfied that the crews had yet to arrive, he turned back and pulled to one of the last homes that appeared finished. He pulled the car up to the garage door and stepped from the running vehicle. The garage door was locked as was the front door. The back door was locked as well, but a quick elbow to the glass gained him entry.
He walked through the semi-furnished home and through the garage, opening the garage door for the car. He pulled the car in and killed the engine. Shutting the garage door, he noted that the first of a line of work trucks had just begun to enter the subdivision. He walked back to the living room and pulled slightly at the blinds. He smiled to himself as the trucks all pulled to the other side of the small subdivision and crews began their daily trudge.
Big fell into an overstuffed chair in the living room and slipped his cell phone from his cargo pocket. He scrolled through the numbers until he found the one he wanted. Punching in the code, he waited for a tone.
When the voice on the end answered, he patiently stated, “Walter Simmons, please.” Big closed his eyes and waited.
“Mr. Simmons, my name is Archibald Bigby. I worked with Major Sheridan.” Bigby waited for the man to say his piece then interrupted, “Sir, we’ve run into a spot of trouble. Major Sheridan is no longer with us. Neither are your wolves. It would seem that Mitchell’s boys stumbled upon us during the full moon, and they assassinated the lot of them while they were confined.”
Bigby waited while his comment soaked in and then listened while the man went off on his tirade. “Sir, if I might…” He tried to interrupt. Bigby held the phone away from his ear while the man yelled. When the volume reduced enough, he brought the phone back to his face. “Sir. I may have a solution. Not all of the weapons were lost, and if you still have wolves incoming, then I believe I can pull off a counter attack that will level them. They believe that they’ve destroyed your forces entirely. They aren’t aware that there is
a second wave incoming as support.”
“You want me to sacrifice the rest of my manpower?” Walter Simmons screamed into the phone. “Are you daft?”
Bigby inhaled deeply and closed his eyes again. “Negative, sir. I’m simply saying that if you still want your revenge, I can assure it. They won’t be expecting a secondary force to muster so quickly and strike. We have the weapons and you have the wolves incoming, do you not?”
Walter Simmons paced the floor of his grand office, his eyes darting from corner to corner. “There is a possibility that my daughter is on her way there. Can you guarantee her safety if she arrives before my wolves do?”
“If you can get me her picture, I can guarantee that we will do everything in our power to secure her prior to the attack. Perhaps we can even intercept her.”
Walter slammed his fist into the wall and clenched his teeth. “How did this happen? How could they have known that my men were staging there?”
Bigby sighed and shook his head. Better to be truthful, old boy. “In all honesty, sir, Major Sheridan recruited an inside man. It is my belief that he may have tipped our hand. Perhaps inadvertently, but regardless of whether it was him or not, he’s no longer part of the equation. I removed him myself.”
“You…how?”
“A silver bullet to the head. I refuse to suffer a traitor to live. Even a suspected traitor.” Bigby listened to the older man breathe heavily into the phone.
“You suspected that he was a traitor so you killed him?”
“Correct.”
The old man laughed; Bigby wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. “You are a hard son of a bitch, aren’t you?”
“Operationally tactical, sir,” Bigby corrected.
“Either way, I think you might be one I can work with. Just between us, I wasn’t sure if I could trust Sheridan.” Bigby heard rustling over the phone as if the old man were settling it in the crook of his shoulder. “My men are still on their way. And if you need support equipment, it’s yours.”
“Very well, sir. I’ll check back in with you this evening after I’ve secured another location to base operations from.” Bigby clicked the end call button and glanced out the window once more. Satisfied that the construction workers would be staying on the other side of the subdivision, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. After the night he had, he needed to rest his exhausted body.
*****
First and Second Squads pulled into the gravel parking lot behind the large, green two-ton trucks that the clean-up crews used to transport the bodies of the wolves. Spalding stepped from the truck and felt both physically and emotionally spent. “Ing, do you mind escorting the clean-up crews?”
Jacobs shook his head. “Whatever you need, boss.” He elbowed Lamb. “Wanna tag along?”
“And miss them incinerating these guys? I’d rather have my eyes gouged with hot pokers.” He tossed his pack to Little John. “Want to hang that up for me, brother?”
Little John caught the bag and gave him a mock salute. “Gotcha covered. You two have fun.” He turned and jogged to catch up with Spalding. “They just incinerate the dead?”
Spalding gave him a weary nod. “Reduces the chance of spreading the virus.” Spalding held the door for him then hit the button for the roll away door. “Used to be, they would do autopsies and whatnot, but…we already know what killed them. There really isn’t a need. They bag up the bodies, spray that bio-foam crap anywhere there’s biological contamination then bring ‘em back here and torch ‘em.”
Little John paused at the staging table and hung up Lamb’s pack then his own. “What about…” He trailed off then met Spanky’s eyes. “When it’s one of our own?”
Spanky nodded. “Same thing, brother. No fancy funerals for us. No coffins to be buried in Arlington National. No twenty-one gun salute.” Spanky leaned against the table and sighed heavily. “That short memorial we had for Carbone? That’s actually pretty rare. Part of the requirement for being a member of the squad is no ties. That way, nobody will miss you when you’re dead. No screaming families demanding a body to bury. No wife or kids demanding…” He trailed off and ran a hand over his face. “Sorry, buddy.”
“No, I’m…I shouldn’t have asked. I know you and Apollo were really tight. I barely knew him. He seemed like a good guy, what little I did know.”
Spalding nodded. “He was.” He turned and stared at the hook holding Apollo’s gear. “I still can’t figure out what made him snap like that.”
“I thought it had something to do with that gal that didn’t make it out of Nevada.”
Spalding nodded solemnly. “Yeah, but, there had to be more to it than that.” Spalding turned to face him and fought back his emotions. “I just can’t accept that everything that went south was because someone like Sheridan was able to get under Apollo’s skin.”
John shrugged. “Maybe Apollo saw an opportunity to infiltrate the bad guys and took it?”
Spalding shook his head. “Nah. He turned to the dark side. Even if he lived to regret it, he still did it.”
Little John watched his team leader as he played out events in his mind, trying like hell to make sense of it. When he couldn’t, he watched as Spalding tightened up, ready to put his fist through an inanimate object. He took the opportunity to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder and remind him that striking out did little more than hurt yourself. “If you want to work off some of that anger, let’s go grab some chow and then hit the heavy bag in the gym. I’ll spot you if you’ll spot me.”
Spalding turned to him and gave him a questioning stare. “What do you need pounding therapy about?”
“I’ll give you a hint.” Little John turned and started walking for the stairwell. “She’s about 5’8”, shares the same parents I do and drinks blood.”
*****
Evan watched the monitors as Laura carried out the last of her belongings and climb into her Jeep. He could feel his heart threaten to start beating again just so it could break on him. His gut tightened and he fought the urge to dart upstairs and out into the sunlight to scoop her into his arms. If he didn’t think that he’d burst into flames for trying, he would have pulled her back down to his lab and shackled her ankle to the corner of his desk.
He felt his lower lip tremble as she loaded the last of her bags into the back then walked to the door of the Wrangler and opened it. She paused and took a lasting look at the rusty old hangar then slipped in behind the wheel and started the engine. He watched the monitor as she backed away and drove off.
Evan slumped in his chair and fought the urge to cry. He knew that she’d be back, but in his mind and in his heart, he felt that she was leaving him. She was rejecting him. The logic portion of his brain screamed at him that it just wasn’t so. Of all of the humans he knew, she would never abandon him. She loved him. She stood up for him when nobody else would.
He backed up the digital recording and watched her again, his vision blurry from unshed tears. He watched as she tossed her gym bag into the back then rearrange things. She picked up her other duffel and shoved it on top of a box then reached for the back door and slammed it shut, her head turning on a swivel before walking to the door of the Jeep.
Something piqued Evan’s interest, and he backed the image up again. He watched her actions. Something didn’t feel right. She wasn’t acting appropriately. Why would she check her surroundings before getting into the car?
He watched as she loaded her bags again then shut the door, her head turning both directions, looking for…what?
Evan rewound the recording and watched again. He backed it up further and watched as she carried out other items. A box, another bag. There was already a large box in the back of her Jeep that she scooted to the side to make room for…he zoomed in on the box she carried.
He could barely catch it, but it was there. An aluminum case. He didn’t remember her having an aluminum case in her office. Where could this one have come from? Evan rubbed at his chin as
he studied what he could see of the case.
He adjusted the image again and tried to focus on the contents. For the briefest of moments he became distracted by her cleavage as she bent over to move things around in the back, but there it was. He sat back and stared at the image that he paused on his monitor.
A confused smile crossed his pale features as he reached for his telephone. Punching the numbers he waited for her to answer. “Miss me already? I’m barely out the gate.”
“Why, yes, Pumpkin, I did miss you. Actually, I missed the case that you took when you left.” He waited and listened to her on the other end. He could hear the Jeep slowly roll to a stop and her voice dropped to a whisper.
“I can explain.”
“You had better.”
*****
Lilith awoke and stretched, her body aching in all the right places. She allowed her eyes to adjust to the gloom, and her hand reached out beside her expecting to feel the warmth of Samael next to her. Her hand brushed the soft crumpled sheet, still warm from his body. He was not where she expected.
Rising from her bed, Lilith strode to the door and reached for the light. “Leave it off.”
She snapped around, her attention drawn to the depths of the shadows. “You surprised me. I thought maybe you had stepped out.”
“I was watching you sleep.”
She squinted in the darkness but couldn’t make out his form in the shadows. “Why do you stay in the shadows, my love? Step out so that I may hold you.” She stepped toward him, putting the full sway of her hips to good use.
“Stay there. I like seeing you in silhouette. The light from the windows…it allows me to see you just the way you should be seen.”
She paused and stared into the shadows. “And how is that?”
“As a beautiful creature of the dark.”
She heard him rise, and the chair he had been sitting in creaked under the strain of his weight. A rustling sound caught her ears and she smiled. “Your wings?”
Obsessions: A Monster Squad Novel 7 Page 3
